Rose and the World of Harry Potter
by Prunus mume
Summary: Rose Castile is a normal eleven-year-old girl. She love drawing, music, and books. Her life was soon turned upside down when she suddenly found herself on the train to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Deciding to take the plot into her own hands, how would she change the story?-On Hiatus
1. Prologue

Prologue

Rosemarie Castile is a perfectly normal, eleven-year-old girl, thank you very much. She lives with her parents in the state of Texas in the United States and is currently on summer vacation in London, England. Growing up, her father and mother encouraged her to have a few hobbies, so she picked up drawing and violin.

She also loved books, especially old ones. They had a smell to them that electronics just can't do justice to. Some of her favorites are the timeless classics like _Pride and Prejudice_ and _A Christmas Carol._ Of course, she loved adventure books since she can understand them. One of her favorites is the series called _Harry Potter_. Since she first picked it up, she had loved the magic and complicated world that J. K. Rowling had created. Ever since, she had always imagined what it would be like to be in London, boarding the train to Hogwarts, and visiting the magical shops at Diagon Alley.

Now, her dream of visiting Kings Cross had come true. Of course, it's not like there's actually a barrier going onto Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters, but it's still neat to visit the place they filmed for the movies. Rose, as many people had called her, felt that the movies doesn't do the book justice. The actors, though, are quite similar to how she imagined them.

On that particular day, her family had breakfast down at a small restaurant near their inn. They packed and quickly headed off to the Kings Cross as they had bought tickets for around nine to Cambridge. They would be staying there for a week before moving on to Belgium. As they entered the station, there were many people bustling around. Her parents quickly looked for their train as she looked around the station. Suddenly, she felt a pull and she lurched back in surprise. She landed onto the ground and blinked. Her mother and father no longer stood in front of her as the people hurried to their trains, not noticing her fall. She stood up a bit dazed and looked around her. For some reason, the train had changed into an older type.

As she tried to think of a cause for the change, she heard a loud female voice saying, "-packed with muggles, of course-"

Twirling around in shock, she stared at the direction the voice was coming from, there was a family of redheads walking toward Platform Nine. Most of them were boys with the exception of the mother and the young girl. Rose felt her head start to spin a bit as she pushed against the crowd to see them more clearly. The older boys had disappeared as they ran toward the wall with their cart. As she approached them, a young boy with black hair went up to them. At this point, Rose started to think she was going crazy, but the proof was right there. The boy with blackish hair was scrawny and small with green eyes the color of emeralds, glasses that looked like they had been taped too many times, and had an owl cage with a snowy owl in it. As she continued to watch them. The mother, Mrs. Weasley, gestured toward her youngest son, Ron, before the boy, Harry, broke into a run toward the wall between Platform Nine and Ten and disappeared. Ron was next and then Mrs. Weasley and the young girl, Ginny, both went in together. As I arrived at the wall, I cautiously touched it and was alarmed to see my finger go through. Does that mean I can pass?

Gathering her courage, she took a few steps back, closed her eyes like Harry, and started to run. She didn't run into the wall and it was quiet for a second before noises can be heard again. As she opened her eyes, she was welcomed by the sight of Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters, and the train heading for Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Rose had led a normal life for the last eleven years, two month, and six days. So why, you may ask, is she standing on an Platform that shouldn't exist except in the imagination, next to a train headed to a place that is also as unbelievable? Well, nobody knows.

Rose watched as children and their parents exchanged farewells as the children headed into the trains. She stared at the cages of owls, cats that perched on the trunks, and the occasional toad. She could have sworn that one of the boy was Neville as he was holding a toad that just can't keep still. As she watched, she was suddenly pushed to the ground as something hit her from behind.

She groaned in pain. As she sat on the floor. _Damn that hurts!_ Rose thought, _what's with me getting pushed to the ground!_

"I'm so sorry!" She heard a feminine voice coming from behind the cart of trunks, "I couldn't see you, are you alright?"

Rose slowly rose up as she turned to look at the girl who knocked her down. Her eyes widened as she came face to face with… Hermione Granger?

The girl…Hermione, continued to babble as Rose took in her features, it did look a lot like Emma Watson, for that she would give the ones who picked the actors credit, but the features are a bit more different, for one her hair was a bit more, bushy, was it, and it appeared as though her front teeth was bigger. Her cloth were neat, and she was rather clean, but not very pretty at this age. However, Rose never was one to judge someone based on looks and just smiled slightly and said, "It's fine, don't worry about it. My name's Rosemarie Castile, but just call me Rose, what's your name?"

Hermione finally paused and looked at Rose before offering her hand and said, "Hermione Granger."

She quickly grabbed Hermione's hand, shook it and said, "It's nice to meet you Hermione, I can call you that, right?"

Hermione gave Rose a smile and said it was fine just as they heard a train whistle blow in the station. Hermione squealed in horror and started to drag her trunks onto the train and Rose, taking pity, decided to help her as she didn't have that much luggage with her. Then, they both got onto the train just as the doors closed and it started to move. They gave a sigh of relief at the same time and looked at each other before proceeding to giggle. Finally, Rose said, "I think we should find a compartment."

Hermione nodded and they looked around for a place to sit. They finally found an almost empty compartment with just a boy in it who was looking around as though he had lost something. Hermione, seeing him, asked, "Hello, do you mind if we sit here? We couldn't find anywhere else."

Rose held back a gasp as the boy turned to reveal the face of Neville Longbottom. He looked at us nervously before mumbling, "Oh, um, it's fine. You don't have to ask me, I mean, that…"

Feeling a bit of pity for him, Rose said thanks and proceeded to put Hermione and her luggage up before sitting. Hermione sat down as well and the three of them became silent. Rose, never one to stand for awkward situations, said, "So, what's your name?"

Neville nervously mumbled out his name and Hermione and Rose introduced themselves. Hermione then took over as she started talking about Hogwarts. She went on and on about how she found out she was a witch, the visit to Diagon Alley, and everything she read about Hogwarts' curriculum and history. As she went on, Neville seemed to become more anxious and continued to look about. Finally, Rose interrupted Hermione asked, "Are you all right, Neville? You seem to be looking for something."

Neville looked at Rose as Hermione stopped talking and also turned her attention to Neville. He looked down, a bit embarrassed, and said, "Well, um, my toad, Trevor, he is, um, missing."

Rose gave a small smile as Hermione scolded Neville for not saying something earlier and then started to have them ask around for a bit. The three of them decided to split up as Neville went in one direction and Hermione and Rose the other. The girls went to each compartment as well as one with people crowding around a box with the Weasley twins and one which Rose had an inkling was Malfoy's based on how expensive the trunks looked. Rose quickly dragged shut the door to that compartment and proceeded to drag Hermione back the way they came after that. They met up with Neville and went back to check the way from where he came. Finally, after what felt like thirty more compartments, they came upon the one with Harry and Ron in it.

Just like in the book, and like every compartment they had stood in front of, Hermione slid the door open without knocking to reveal a boy with red hair and a black mark on his nose as well as a boy who looked scrawny with black hair and green eyes.

Hermione quickly asked, "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one."

I cringed a bit at how bossy it sounded.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," Ron replied, but, just as the book described it, Hermione was now focused on the wand in Ron's hand.

"Oh," Hermione said with a touch of excitement, "are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."

She proceeded to sit down and Rose stood there, not quite sure what to do. _Should she change how this first meeting goes? Maybe she should get Hermione to be friends with Harry and Ron faster this time_ , she thought. Rose had never really liked Ron. In her opinion, Ron held Harry and Hermione back from many things, including studying and magic. Throughout the book, she had always wanted Harry and Hermione to end up together. Although she didn't mind Ginny, but for Hermione to end up with Ron was a bit… well… she didn't really like it.

With this, she decided, she'll change Hermione's relationship. _I mean_ , she mused, w _hat harm would that be?_

While she was lost in her thoughts, Ron proceeded to perform the 'spell' his brothers gave him. As predicted, nothing happened. Hermione, disappointed, said, "Are you sure that's a real spell? Well it's not very good is it? I've-"

Before she could continue, Rose interrupted her and said, "Hermione, I'm sure Ron was tricked into using that spell, if you can call it a spell. Don't be too hard on him. After all, the whole point of going to school is to learn how to do magic properly, right?"

Hermione sniffed a bit, probably annoyed that Rose had interrupted one of her rants, but nodded. Rose then turned toward Harry and Ron and said, "Sorry about that, I'm Rosemarie Castile, by the way, and she," with this she indicated to Hermione, "is Hermione Granger."

However, Ron didn't mutter his name, instead he was gapping at Rose like she was an alien.

"How the bloody hell did you know my name?" He sputtered.

Rose cringed at the slip and tried to cover it by saying, "I heard it when I was entering the platform. Your family is rather loud and noticeable. I merely heard your name, that's all."

The boys seemed to accept that, although Hermione was eyeing her suspiciously. Rose made a mental note to not try to make the same mistake. She turned to Harry and asked, "Who may you be?"

Harry hearing this said, "Harry Potter."

Hermione straightened a bit and said, "Are you really? I know all about you of course-I got a few extra books for background reading, and your in-"

"You really shouldn't believe everything you read, you know." Rose interrupted, "Not everything that are written down are true."

Hermione gave a small glare this time for interrupting her again. Rose decided that it was time to leave and said, "Hermione, we should probably go. We need to change and continue to look for Neville's toad."

Hermione nodded and they left the compartment with Neville, who had been patiently waiting outside. As they left Rose hear Ron say, "Whatever house I'm in, I hope they're not in it, both seems a bit nuts to me."

Surprisingly, Harry defended them by saying, "I don't know, they're not that bad."

Rose smiled. Success.


	3. Chapter 2

**P.M.-I tried to make this chapter a bit longer than before, but I might have wrote too much boring details. Still I hope you'll enjoy it and give me a review of how you think about my story so I can improve. Thank you and enjoy this chapter!**

 **PS: I forgot to say this in the previous chapters. I do not have the right to claim any Harry Potter characters mentioned but Rose is mine.**

Chapter 2

As they went back to their compartment to get changed. Rose was reminded that she didn't have anything that was on the list mentioned. She made the excuse with Hermione that she had just moved to England and received her 'letter' on a short notice. Thankfully, Hermione bought the excuse, although she stared at her skeptically for a few minutes, and lend her one of her extra uniforms.

"You can never be too prepared," was what she said when Rose looked at her questionably.

The two girls kicked Neville out for a while as they changed before stepping out and letting Neville change. As they were outside, they explored the train a bit more before they heard a commotion coming from the compartment Harry and Ron was in. Curious as to what happened, we rushed over to the compartment as three people left in a hurry. Rose nearly tripped as she saw that the three were Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, but kept up with Hermione as she stopped before Harry and Ron's compartment. Hermione gave a very disapproving look that reminded Rose a bit of her own mother as she said, "Were you two fighting? We're not even off the train yet!"

 _Well_ , Rose thought sarcastically, _at least she isn't talking nonstop anymore and just getting straight to the point_. Deciding to end this before Hermione ruined everything she had planned carefully, well, fine, on a whim, Rose said, "I'm sure they weren't looking for a fight Hermione. Plus it really isn't any of our business. You know how boys are."

Hermione thought for a bit before sighing in resignation and said, "Fine." Turning to the boys, she said, "You'd better hurry up and get your robes on because the conductor said we're nearly there." Then, she closed the door and they headed back to their own compartment to wait for the train to stop.

When they arrived, they found Neville sitting in the compartment waiting for them. It was rather awkward as Hermione was still a bit miffed at Rose for not getting angry that the boys had already caused trouble. _They were already breaking rules!_ Hermione thought angrily, _and we're not even there yet!_

Rose on the other hand, was having a bit of a headache. Her mind went on overdrive as she contemplated what she needs to keep the same and what she needs to change. She definitely have to save more of the characters and cause some to convert or die sooner. Sirius is at the top of the list of saving followed by Remus and Tonks, Fred, Cedric, Dobby, and the list went on. However, the list of characters that are, forgive her rudeness, better off dead earlier was long too. Voldemort was at the top of the list followed closely by Pettigrew and the rest of the Death Eaters. She'll have to write everything down and make a good plan. For now, Rose thought, I'll have to do something about Professor Quirrell and his… little problem.

As the train stopped, everyone got off. Rose finally remembered that the three of them haven't found Neville's toad yet as she heard, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"

She whirled around in excitement as she caught sight of Hagrid, the Gamekeeper of Hogwarts. Rose smiled as she saw that Hagrid looked just like how she imagined and more. He was tall and wide with a homey look, a giant bushy beard, and eyes that twinkled with an almost innocent and childish look. Hagrid was for sure one of Rose's favorite character, although he wasn't the best one to tell your secret to. She liked how he seemed to be a true friend and is almost loyal to a fault. His voice continued to boom around them as he led them down a narrow path that was a bit muddy and wet. Rose heard Neville sniff a bit and decided to take his hand and smiled encouragingly. He looked a bit surprised by this but was grateful as he went on with a more determined look. Hermione smiled a bit at this but thankfully didn't say anything.

The path finally ended at a large lake with water that looked like ink with the occasional glimpse of a small reflection of the lights from the castle and the sky. The castle was what caught Rose's attention though. In her opinion, she had never seen anything so spectacular. Though similar to the one from the movie, it didn't have the same dreary look as many lights shone upon it. The windows were intricately designed and were almost sparkling like crystals. She was so caught up with the view that she almost didn't hear Hagrid say no more than four to a boat.

She did notice, though when Hermione started to drag her to a boat, causing Neville to follow as he was still holding her hand. As there were three of them, they didn't end up in the same boat as Harry and Ron. Instead, they sat with a girl who, to Rose's surprise, was Susan Bones. The four of them went about and chatted a bit, ducked when they passed under the ivy, before the boat landed and they got out. Susan, Rose decided, was probably a lot like her aunt, Amelia Bones, considering she ended up in Hufflepuff, the house of the loyal and fair. She was going to like this girl and felt that with time, they would make great friends. Neville seemed to open up a bit more, although he seemed to still be upset that he can't find his toad, as they talked and Rose did her best to include him in the conversations. Luckily, Hagrid found Trevor, the toad, and returned it to Neville before they headed up to the castle doors that loomed over them. Hagrid, after asking if everyone was there and if Neville still had his toad, knocked three times on the door and it swung open to reveal a witch in green robes, Professor McGonagall.

Professor McGonagall looked a lot stricter than the one who played her part. She also looked a lot more different. For one, her hair was ink black in comparison to the red-brown. She also looked a bit taller, but that might be because Rose was still really short. Rose had to agree with Harry, though, she was not someone to cross with. Rose could be imagining it, but everyone seemed to stand a little straighter at the sight of the Professor, Hermione especially. She looked as though she would do just about anything to make sure she could please this professor, which she probably would.

Professor McGonagall thanked Hagrid before opening the door wider and indicated for us to follow her. The entrance was spacious and looked like it could hold a blue whale. The group of them were crowded into a small room although Rose heard chatters coming from where she assumes to be the Great Hall. As Professor McGonagall explained the four houses, Rose watched her new friends. Hermione looked very determined and seemed as though she would be prepared for anything; Neville looked more and more nervous with each passing second and had paled considerably. When Professor McGonagall gave a disapproving look at his robes, he gulped a bit. When Professor McGonagall finished, she left.

At this time, murmurs broke out among them. Harry turned to Ron and asked, "How exactly do they sort us into houses?"

Rose watched as Harry paled a bit at the thought of a test and decided to reassure him and Neville.

"Don't worry too much," Rose said to Harry, "I heard that all you have to do is put on a hat and it'll sort you based on your personality and abilities."

A lot of the students, hearing Rose's exclamation, calmed a bit but one of them asked her suspiciously, "And how exactly do you know?"

Rose shrugged and gave the excuse, "My great-great-grandparents. They used to go to Hogwarts before they moved to America and would tell tales of the school. Apparently, it's a tradition to keep the hat a secret so they could be amused by how nervous their children gets. Of course, since they moved to America, they told their adventures at Hogwarts to my great-grandparents, and in turn they told it to my grandparents and…"

At this point, Rose noticed she was babbling and decided to shut up. Inwardly, she was pleased and a bit surprised at how easily she lied through her teeth. She'll have to be careful what she says, though, else people would find how her stories don't match. In truth, she had lost a pair of grandparents in a car crash before she was three and the other two are getting too old to talk coherently anymore and requires 24/7 care. When she was younger, her grandmother would hold her and tell her how her great-great-grandfather came from France to America with her great-great-grandmother. It was from there that she had inherited her greyish blue eyes, pale skin, and doll face. Magic never existed in her world as far as she knew, after all.

Rose was again jolted out of her thoughts when she her several people scream. Jerking her head up, she was greeted by the image of several ghosts coming out of the black wall. They were white and transparent just like that in the movies but all the more chilling. Rose gave a small squeak. She never liked dead people.

The twenty or so ghosts were arguing about Peeves before they noticed the group of children standing before them. Nobody dared to answer when one asked who they were but one ghost (Fat Fryer… or was it Friar?) guessed that they were first years. Rose wondered how they didn't know that they were first years considering that the ghosts had been in the castle for so long but decided not to ask. If possible, she would like to stay as far from them as possible, thank you very much.

At this time, Professor McGonagall had returned and the ghosts floated away through another wall.

"Now form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

 _Wizards,_ Rose decided, _are great at following orders_ when all the students lined up in a surprisingly straight line, though that might have something to do with how nervous they all are. When they entered through the double doors of the Great Hall, Rose felt a little queasy. She didn't actually belong here! She had not received a letter and does not even have a wand for crying out loud. When her name wasn't called, how would she explain!

Rose fretted over the situation and didn't even notice when Hermione leaned forward and whispered to Harry, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History_."

Rose gulped as she saw the battered old hat that sat innocently on the stool at the front of the hall. It looked much battered then in the movie and it was as though a small breeze would tear it apart. The Great Hall fell into a complete silence before the hat twitched and started to sing through a flap. (A/N: I would spare you the boredom of reading the poem.)

Applause rang out as the hat finished its song. Professor McGonagall held out a parchment and proceeded to call out names in alphabetical order starting with Abbott, Hannah. Rose felt her hands go clammy as she then moved on to the "B's". She closed her eyes after Bulstrode, Millicent was called and sorted into Slytherin. The next name surprised her to no ends.

"Castile, Rosemarie!" Professor McGonagall called out. Rose's eyes almost bulged out and she shakily went up and sat down on the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head and it covered her view of the Great Hall. She sat, staring at the blackness of the inside of the hat, when it finally spoke to her.

"Well," the Sorting Hat said, "you sure have gotten into a lot of trouble, haven't you young lady. Hmm, you lived a very sheltered life I see, but has a thirst for adventure. A great mind too, and one to always plot before jumping into things. You have ambitions for changing what will come, I'll have to warn you though, changing to much of the preordained can be dangerous, but I'm willing to give you a hand. You have great loyalty to those that you call friends and would jump into any danger to save them. Slytherin would be great for you, you know, but I feel that you would find plans to work better in GRYFFINDOR!"

Rose quickly pulled the hat up in relief and went to sit at the table that was wearing red and gold and clapping for her. She found a spot near the Weasleys as she watched the rest of the sorting. A space seemed to appear next to her as she made room for Hermione and then Neville to sit next to her. Finally, they got to Potter and whispers started to go around as Harry stepped forward. Rose felt a bit of pity for Harry. It seemed that no matter where he went, there is always something that made him stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Harry sat on the stool for a while, probably arguing with the Sorting Hat, before it called out Gryffindor. He walked over to the table and shakily sat down after shaking hands with Percy. Rose felt more pity for him when a ghost, probably Nearly Headless Nick, placed a hand on his shoulder and he shivered. No one else seemed to notice Harry's discomfort, though, and he glanced over at the High Table. Rose followed his gaze to Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. He was watching Harry with a small twinkle in his eyes that Rose immediately felt uncomfortable with. Professor Dumbledore wasn't bad in the book, but Rose never liked that he placed Harry with the Dursleys, let alone how he used Harry even after he died under the guise of "For the Greater Good".

Rose turned her gaze over to the man with the purple turban and her eyes narrowed. She'll have to do something about the possessed man before the end of the year. Preferably killing off the soul of Voldemort in him before it escaped but she has no idea how to go about it. Basilisk venom and the Sword of Gryffindor would be hard to get. Fiendfyre and the Killing Curse would be too dangerous and detectable so those are out. However, maybe it would be better to let the soul escape. Maybe she just shouldn't mess with anything…

The food appeared in front of her suddenly. Rose blinked a bit in surprise. She must have missed Headmaster Dumbledore's "speech". She had just started to feel how hungry she was. She did miss lunch since she had been looking for Trevor. As she piled her plate full of roast beef, boiled potatoes, gravy, sausages, and whatever that look good or interesting (she even dared to try the questionable peppermint humbugs, which she pushed aside after one bite). She made a mental note as she cut the sausage that she should probably go over the _Harry Potter_ books in her suitcase just in case. She did have good memory but it doesn't hurt to be reminded of every fact mentioned.

For dessert, Rose eagerly scooped a few balls of different ice creams, some trifles, and a chocolate tart. Just as she was about to eat a trifle, Ron, surprisingly, turned over to her and asked, "So what type of family do you have?"

Rose frowned at the question and said, "Well, my great-great-grandparents were first generations if that's what you want to know."

The boys waited as if to hear more but that was all Rose was willing to say. A bit disappointed at the lack of detail, Ron moved on to Neville, "What about you, Neville?"

Neville started to tell about how his family thought he was all-Muggle and how his Great Uncle Algie tried to force accidental magic out of him. Rose frown deepened and when Neville finished, she said, "Your grandmother should have stopped your great uncle. It sounds like they would rather you die than not have magic."

The group got quiet after that before Seamus started on a different topic. Rose went back to her desserts only to hear Harry give a small "Ouch!" She glanced up at Harry and turned to the High Table. Professor Quirrell was stuttering to Professor Snape and Rose glared at the back of his head a bit before turning to Harry and asked, "Is your scare alright?"

Right after she asked she mentally cursed herself for making that mistake. Harry's eyes widened and he stuttered, "How did you, I never said, that"

Thinking fast, Rose said, "You placed your hand over it, so I assumed, sorry that, well…"

"Its fine," Harry said as he seemed to get his composure back, "It just stung a bit, I'm sure it's nothing."

Rose narrowed her eyes a bit and murmured, "I still think you should get it checked. It isn't a normal scar so if it hurts, as I assume it hasn't before, it must mean something."

Hermione seemed to have heard their talk as she finally turned away from Percy Weasley and looked over at them and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Harry said quickly.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him a bit and was about to say something when the desserts disappeared and Professor Dumbledore stood up. He announced that the forest was forbidden, no magic between classes, the quidditch trials in the second week, and the restriction of the third-floor corridor on the right hand side. There were murmurs after that and Harry turned to ask Percy about it. As Percy didn't know, he couldn't answer Harry.

Dumbledore then flicked his wand and a shiny gold ribbon came out and started to twist itself into words. On Professor Dumbledore's command, the school started to sing the song. _Tried to, is more like it_ , Rose thought as everyone was practically singing at a different tune. Just for the fun of it, Rose decided to go along with the Weasley twins and sang the funeral tune. Dumbledore conducted them till the end before clapping loudly.

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. Rose raised an eyebrow at him, _was he seriously crying?_ "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

Rose soon found herself in her new bedroom that she shares with the other girls: Hermione, Lavender, and Parvati. She didn't really like Parvati and Lavender as they gave the feel of airheaded stuck ups with nothing to do but gossip all day. If anything, she got along rather well with Hermione and they discussed a bit about the classes before heading to bed. It was such an exhausting day for Rose, that she completely forgot that she had no wand or books for the classes the next day.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Rose learned the hard way that it sucks to not have anything for class. Books wouldn't be much of a problem, there are a lot of people willing to share, but wands are a different case. In a way, they are your partner for life. As Rose didn't have a wand though, it left a bit of problem when it came to the first class that needed a wand: Charms.

It was a very bad day for Rose, she had woken up a bit late and had to rush at breakfast. To make things worse, the stairs were not cooperating with her that day. You would think that the teacher would take into consideration that it was only the third day of school but no, Professor Flitwick, seeing her late, took a point off from Gryffindor. Feeling the heat rise to her cheeks, she quickly sat down next to Hermione. As Professor Flitwick had already took roll, she had missed the sight of him toppling over. They started their first lesson learning the theory of charms and the wand movements. Rose paled a bit and ducked her head down as everyone around her pulled out a wand.

Her cheeks heated up again when Professor Flitwick asked where her where her wand was. Rose gulped a bit as she heard snickers around her and mumbled, "I don't have a wand."

To her immense relief, Professor Flitwick didn't take any points away for that or give her detention. Instead he told her to go to Professor McGonagall and talk to her about it after class was over. For the rest of the class, she merely used a pen as a substitute and practiced the movements. Of course, Hermione corrected her quite a few times.

Right after Charms, Rose quickly headed to the Transfiguration classroom as fast as she can. There was no class at the time so the classroom was empty except for Professor McGonagall. She glanced up as Rose peeked into the classroom and said, "Miss Castile, what can I do for you?"

Rose stiffened a bit and gave a small sigh before she spoke, "Professor McGonagall, I don't have a wand."

Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything as she stood up. After a few minutes of silence she finally said, "Very well, I shall bring this up with the Headmaster and see if we can arrange a short trip to Diagon Alley. Is there anything else you are missing?"

Rose stared at the floor and said, "Yes." Seeing that Professor McGonagall seemed to be wanting more than that she added, "I'm missing books, robes, cauldron, scales, telescope,-"

"Ms. Castile," Professor McGonagall interrupted, "is there anything you're not missing?"

Rose looked down and didn't answer.

Sighing Professor McGonagall said, "We'll arrange a trip to Diagon Alley on Friday afternoon. For now, just borrow the materials from a friend and practice the wand incantations and movements."

Rose nodded and left the classroom, heading to lunch. When she sat down, Hermione caught her attention and asked, "So?"

Rose smiled, "I'm due to spend my Friday shopping in Diagon Alley."

Hermione smiled bit before frowning again and said, "You know, you really should have mentioned something sooner. I mean, it's not good for you to be missing supplies for class. You'll fall behind at this rate."

Rose sighed and said, "I seriously thought I would get in trouble for it. I'm really glad that the teachers didn't make such a big deals about it."

Hermione frowned again and started to go on about how Rose should try and trust the teachers more. Rose know she had a point but it is rather hard to trust the teachers when one is possessed by a dark lord and a few others that are biased about their house. _Seriously,_ Rose thought, _it's good to show team spirit but to compete to the point where you harm others is a bit too much._

The other days went a little better as the teachers were informed of Rose's problem. The night before their first potions class, Rose dragged Hermione to dinner and they sat as close as they can get to Harry and Ron. They four politely greeted each other as the girls sat down. Deciding to finish what she came for quickly Rose asked, "We're having doubles potions tomorrow with the Slytherins, right?"

Hermione was the first to answer, "Yes I'm looking forward to it, but I heard that most Slytherins are rather… dark and based on my research of Hogwarts, I think it's rather true."

Ron took this time to start speaking and said rather loudly, "All dark wizards come from Slytherin, you know. They are also like to bully other houses and I heard that Snape, who teaches potions and is the head of Slytherin, favors his house a lot."

"It's Professor Snape, Ron," Hermione said automatically, "and I'm sure he can be no worse than any other Professor."

Rose, seeing that a verbal war was about to break out, decided to interrupt, "Well, if he is biased, then we should just study more so there won't be a reason for him to take points, right?" As she said this, she gave a desperate look toward Harry who seemed to get what she was doing and said, "Of course, why don't we head to the library and study?"

Hermione turned away from Ron and stared at Harry as if seeing him for the first time before beaming in delight. Ron, however, grumbled about how it's useless and a complete waste of time but the three of them ignored his protest and headed off to the library. To Rose's delight, Ron hurriedly excused himself and left.

The three of them had a surprisingly good time studying together. During this time, Rose made sure to drill into Harry everything about the Draught of Living Death, bezoar, and wolfs bane. Hermione, of course, drilled the rest of the potions and ingredients into their head. By the time they left the library, both Rose and Harry can almost recite a hundred ingredients and potion brewing method out of the top of their head. It probably helped that they had no distractions except for when Neville decided to join them. He was surprisingly good at identifying ingredients and, with Hermione's help, was able to memorize just as much as Rose and Harry. As they studied together, Rose watched as everyone became more comfortable with talking to each other and smiled. The four of them headed back to their house and separated ways to head back to their dorm. When Hermione and Rose arrived at their dorm, Lavender and Parvati were sitting at their side of the room chatting away. They ignored the two gossipers and proceeded to get ready to bed and went to sleep.

The very next day, the Rose and Hermione entered the Great Hall only to be greeted by an unusual sight, well, at least for Rose. Harry and Neville were sitting together and waving for them to join them while Ron seemed to be sitting as far away from them as possible with a scowl on his face. The two girls headed over to the two boys and sat down across from them. Rose took note of the fact that Neville seemed a bit more open now. Turning to Harry, she asked, "What happened?"

To her surprise, Harry scowled a bit and said, "Ron was being annoying and complained about how he didn't have anything to do so Neville asked why he didn't study with us. Ron gaped at him a bit before proclaiming that studying is a waste of time and that the two of you are… well… Neville then tried to defend you but Ron then said…"

"No need to say anymore, Harry," Rose said with a tight smile as she gripped her fork, "I get what you're trying to say." She then stabbed her fork into her scrambled egg and ate it calmly. _If even Harry was mad, whatever Ron had said must be very bad_ , she mused. Hermione, on the other hand was almost red with indignation. She was about to say something but Rose turned to her and said, "No need to rant about it Hermione. It'll only give him the satisfaction of proclaiming that he is right."

"But," Hermione started to complain but stopped when she saw the cold look in Rose's eyes, she took a deep breath before she said, "okay."

The four of them were then left in an awkward silence before Rose sighed and changed the subject to Hagrid. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ron glance over at them every once in a while and scowl. When they finished breakfast, the quartet quickly headed to Potions and sat together. They waited with quill and paper ready for class to start as more and more students arrived. Rose saw Draco and his followers heading to the seats in front of them with a sneer on their faces as they passed and Ron, seeing them, turning and headed to the very last seat in the class.

Rose jumped a bit in surprise when Professor Snape swung the door open and came into the room with his cloak bellowing behind him. He walked to the front of the class and proceeded to take roll, stopping on Harry's name and softly proclaimed his celebrity status. Draco and his goons sniggered and Rose gave a small frown. When he finished the roll call, he started talking about the 'art of potions'.

Silence followed his speech and Rose's frown deepened a bit. Hermione looked like she was about to explode as she gripped her quill, ready for questioning if asked. Rose had talked to her previously about her enthusiasm and had worked with her on the habit of trying to answer every question. "It'll be good for the others to answer questions once in a while," she had explained.

As expected Professor Snape called on Harry right away.

"Potter!" he said a bit loudly, "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Unlike the time in the book, Harry answered, albeit hesitantly, "Draught of Living Death, sir."

Looking surprised, Professor Snape sneered, "I guess you were smart enough to pick up a book to read before coming here, huh, Potter? Then where would you look if I told you to find a bezoar?"

"The stomach of a goat?" Harry provided.

Professor Snape's frown deepened to Rose's amusement. Apparently, her amusement showed because Professor Snape turned to her and asked, "Do you find something amusing, Castile? Then can you please tell me the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"There's no difference," Rose answered automatically, paused, and then added, "sir."

Professor Snape narrowed his eyes on her and said, "Very well, but a point will be taken from you for your sign of disrespect for authority."

Rose's eye twitched but she bit her tongue to not say anything. Professor Snape turned and walked back to the front of the room and proceeded to put them into pairs. Luck was on their side as it seemed that even Professor Snape was unwilling to pair a Slytherin and a Gryffindor together and told them to pair with the one sitting next to them. Rose ended up paired with Hermione while Harry was with Neville, Rose watched the two of them and was relieved that no cauldron was melted. The entire potions class went rather well, with Rose trying to keep the four of them as unnoticed as possible. Once in a while, Professor Snape would glare suspiciously in their direction but, seeing nothing go wrong, did not say anything.

The four of them left the dungeon classroom about an hour later in a rather calm mood. There was a bit of tension as Harry looked confused as to why the Potion Professor seemed to hate him so much but didn't voice it. The four headed to the Great Hall, ate a short lunch, before proceeding to their common room to work on their potion assignment. Rose excused herself around half past two to go to Professor McGonagall's classroom. When she arrived, Professor McGonagall seemed to have been waiting for her for a while. Professor McGonagall gave a curt nod of acknowledgement and the two left via the floo. As they landed in Diagon Alley, Rose made a mental note that if she were to continue to live in this world, she'll have to find a more comfortable way to travel.

Diagon Alley looked rather peaceful since school had started. The professor and the student hurried to all the shops and bought the supplies, leaving the wand for last. Rose had borrowed a bit of money from Harry since she had none. Upon arriving at Ollivanders, Rose can see why it seemed so secretive and magical. The place had the smell of an old antique store with many objects that had been long forgotten within. It was very quiet which gave the feeling of a library. The shelves are full of boxes that were stacked rather neatly.

"Hello," a voice softly said.

Rose jumped a bit and gave a small gasp as she turned to look at Mr. Ollivander seemed to appear from the sea of boxes.

Rose gulped a bit before replying with a small, "Hello, I'm Rosemarie Castile."

Mr. Ollivander stared at her for a bit until Professor McGonagall coughed, alerting the two to her presence.

"Ah Minerva McGonagall! It's a pleasant surprise to see you again…nine and a half inch, fir, great for Transfiguration, correct?"

Professor McGonagall gave a small nod as a yes and Mr. Ollivander turned his head back to Rose.

"Well now," he said, "Miss Castile, which one is your wand arm?"

Rose blinked a bit and asked, "Would it be the one I write with or the one with more strength?"

The two adults in the room blinked and Mr. Ollivander finally said, "In that case, the one you feel has more control."

Rose nodded and held out her right arm. Ollivander started measuring her arm from different angles and started to explain about the different types of cores and wands. He walked off to the shelves during the explanation as the tape measure continued to measure her arm, and took down a few boxes.

"That'll be enough." He said and the tape measure dropped to the ground. Holding out a box with a wand in it, he said, "Here try this, Maple and phoenix feather. Eight inch. Rather whippy."

Rose took hold of the wand and frowned before placing it down. Something about it just didn't feel right. Ollivander blinked in surprise while Professor McGonagall rose an eyebrow. Both didn't comment as Ollivander placed the box aside and got a new one. Cherry and dragon heartstring. Seven and a half. They continued for four or five wands before Ollivander seemed to have an idea and got out another box.

"Hmm…" he said, "let's try this one. Unusual wood, Heather and unicorn hair. Seven. Strong and sturdy."

When she grasped the wand, Rose gave a small gasp in surprise and smiled. Ollivander gave a nod of approval and said, "An unusual combination for an unusual girl."

Rose blinked. Did he know that she doesn't belong in this world?

Rose paid and the two headed out of the shop. Rose was deep in thought when she arrived at the Great Hall for dinner. She had showed Hermione and the boys her wand before inquiring about their visit to Hagrid's. It seemed that Harry had seen the date of the break-in to Gringotts. The quartet headed to bed that night with the two deep in thought about what is to happen.


	5. Chapter 4

**Sorry for taking so long. I'll probably be able to update at most only once a week but at latest maybe two weeks as I have two stories I'm currently working on. Please leave a review for this one so I can improve it.**

 **The Harry Potter series and all it's characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Without further a due, here is chapter 4.**

Chapter 4

The week after went rather smoothly till Thursday when a notice was posted of flying lessons with the Slytherins. Almost all of the first years in the Gryffindor Tower groaned with the exception of the quartet. Of course, even though they didn't voice their thoughts, they mentally screamed in despair. The four of them had started to fall into a pattern that involved very little social time with others outside of their group and had formed a close bond with each other that can almost rival the Weasley twins. The four would always head to class together and work on their assignments together. When they're not working, they would usually be found in the Common Room playing chess, reading, or chatting up on recent events or walking in the fields to get some exercise. During these times, Rose found that though Harry might not be good at chess, he makes a great strategist in times of quick thinking. Hermione pulled through on top on quick information gathering during a short game and Neville was a walking plant dictionary and beat Hermione in that area.

As they haven't socialized much even within their own house, there was no way that they had talked to anyone outside of their house with the exception of a simple greeting. However, even they have learned that Slytherin housed a few rather shady individuals. They had come across some of the Slytherins who would sneer at them or make small comments that sometimes sent their blood boiling. At those times, Harry and Neville would get riled up enough to start a fight with Hermione not so far behind but Rose made sure to keep them in check. It just won't do for the four to get into trouble over such things as it wasn't mentioned in the book. Malfoy, though, was a different story. He wasn't just mean, he was arrogant as well, and Rose hated arrogance. Usually, Hermione ended up holding Rose back as Malfoy made comment after comment about how the four were so tragic. He just seemed to know where to poke on people. _One day_ , Rose thought darkly at the time, _that mouth of his would get him in trouble._

On Thursday morning, the owls arrived as usual when one dropped a package down in front of Neville. He unwrapped it to reveal a Remembrall. Neville showed it excitedly to the other three as he said, "It's a Remembrall! Gran knows I forget things – this tells you if there's something you forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red – oh…" The Remembrall glowed a scarlet red as he gave it a little squeeze causing Neville's face to fall.

Rose, seeing this, narrowed her eyes on the Remembrall thoughtfully before commenting, "It's not particularly useful is it? I mean, it doesn't exactly tell you what you forgot or give you a hint to it so how are you supposed to remember?"

Hermione, hearing this, jumped at the chance to help her friend feel better, and said, "Good point Rose. Maybe you forgot that you didn't forget anything?"

Harry, seeing where the girls are going, added his own comment, "True, we have been hanging out together and I don't particularly remember if we forgot anything and Hermione always checks over her journal to remind us if we did forget so, maybe the Remembrall is wrong?"

Neville felt a tightness in his chest at how his friends were helping him and decided to not take the Remembrall to heart and said, "Yes. Of course, sorry for being so negative about it."

He quickly put it away in his pockets and was rather lucky as at that time, Draco Malfoy passed by where they were sitting and gave them a sneer before sitting down with Crabbe and Goyle on his left. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose noted Pansy Parkinson sitting on his right with Blaise Zabini opposite of him near the head of the table. The rest of the Slytherins seemed to spread out and Rose noticed that most of the 'grey' families were at the other end. It seems that an order of class had already been established in Slytherin. Rose didn't like the idea of segregation. Not one bit.

The four went down to the smooth, flat field of fresh, green grass after breakfast along with the other Gryffindor and Slytherin first years. On the ground laid twenty broomsticks. Everyone stood there as they waited for the teacher to arrive. The night before, Hermione and Neville nearly had a panic attack about flying on a broom. They were especially worried when they heard Fred and George Weasley complain about how the school brooms were bad. Rose and Harry ended up having to assure them till curfew that they'll be fine. Rose felt surprisingly calm about the whole flying business and Harry was mostly excited.

As they waited, they overheard Ron saying loudly that Malfoy was probably all talk and is most likely average on brooms to Seamus who didn't look amused. The first years learned almost immediately that the first-year Weasley and the young Malfoy did not get along well. The two would always banter until a professor came or until one finally does not have anything more to say, mostly Ron. Rose personally thinks Professor Snape enjoys their banter considering he always seem to put them together for projects. That idea blew into the wind after he took nearly a hundred points from Gryffindor in one lesson. He was just using Ron as an excuse to take of points, was what Rose finally decided.

Luckily, Madam Hooch before Malfoy could start another banter with Ron. Rose analyzed Madam Hooch as she walked over. She was medium in size, very similar to her actress. Her eyes, though looked much brighter and blinked not very different from a hawk.

Her features really matched her personality as she barked, "Well, what are you all waiting for? Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

Everyone quickly scrambled to a broom. Madam Hooch was intimidating, a bit like Professor McGonagall. Rose glanced down a bit at the scrawny broom on the ground. The straws were sticking out and the wooden handle was much chipped.

"Stick your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say Up!"

"UP!" was echoed by everyone.

The broom jumped up quickly into her hand with a surprisingly large force. She turned to see that Harry's broom jumped up as well but Hermione and Neville were having a bit of trouble. She decided to help them and gave some instructions, "Hermione, Neville, you can't just shout out a command. The broom is a bit like a horse, you have to feel confident about it for it to listen to you."

Hermione and Neville nodded and both closed their eyes trying to calm down. After a few deep breath, they both tried again and, to their delight, it worked. At this time, most of the students had either got their broom to obey the command or just picked it up. Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount the brooms without sliding off the end and checked their grips. Rose can't deny that she was a little amused as Madam Hooch corrected Draco's grip.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle – three – two –"

She never reached "one" as Neville kicked off a little early. Rose paled as she saw what was happening and turned to Harry only to feel a gust of wind blowing into her face. When she jerked her head back up, she saw that Harry had gotten to Neville and grabbed his broom while speaking calmly to let Neville calm down. The two slowly came down and almost all the Gryffindor first years clapped for Harry. Madam Hooch came over to them and started to lecture them on how dangerous that was. _Well, there goes Harry's 'youngest seeker in a century' award_ , Rose thought jokingly.

The flying lesson went on without another hitch even though some of the Slytherins had snickered about Neville's first flight. The four had gotten very steady on the broom and Harry seemed more relaxed after the flying lesson. He was well on his way to joining the quidditch team next year.

Dinner went by without interruptions either. Draco had come over to their table only once and the four overheard Ron's acceptance to Malfoy's duel. Hermione immediately went into lecture mood and was going to head over but Rose stopped her, stating it wasn't their business.

The next day the four saw that Ron looked rather pale but it seemed that he hadn't been caught. When they passed by Ron, they heard him telling Seamus about the three headed dog guarding the third corridor. The four of them froze for a second before continuing on. When they sat down, they immediately started discussing what they had heard.

"I believe Ron was talking about a Cerberus. They are the only three headed dogs I've read about." Hermione started off.

"A Cerberus in school? Are the professors crazy! It's dangerous." Neville said.

"I wonder what it's guarding." Harry pondered out loud. He suddenly seemed to remember something as he started to whisper excitedly, "Yes that must be it."

Rose felt a terrible weight in her stomach as she asked, "What's 'it' Harry?"

Harry's eyes glinted a bit as he replied, "The small package that Hagrid got the day he picked me up. The vault that the thief tried to steal from had been emptied that same day. The day Hagrid and I went there! I remember Hagrid saying that 'Gringotts is the safest place - 'cept for maybe Hogwarts.'"

Rose, hearing this can't help but say, "Hagrid loves beasts and other creatures. The Cerberus could be his, couldn't it?"

Rose never hated her chatty mouth more than right then as the other threes' eyes light up at the question. Somehow, it seems that she had made everything happen a bit faster than the book, and she doesn't know how to fix it.

That afternoon, Rose found herself in front of Hagrid's hut with her three other friends, Hermione, Neville, and Harry. When they had knocked, Hagrid opened the door and quickly let them in with delight. Rose sighed as Hermione and Harry got to work on Hagrid almost immediately. The two asked about the beasts that Hagrid had. Once he started talking about them, Hagrid was like a waterfall and just kept talking. Finally, Hermione asked if Hagrid owned a Cerberus on which he paused.

"I do but why?" He asked a bit cautiously.

"Oh, no reason." Hermione said, "I just read about them. Plus," she added casually, "the four of us overheard Ron talking about seeing a Cerberus in the third-floor corridor when he accidentally stumbled there. I've heard from Harry about a small package you got for Headmaster Dumbledore, was that what it was guarding?"

At this point, Rose loathed that she had taught Hermione how to socialize. She was supposed to use it for finding out blackmail materials or get out of trouble when needed. Not for getting information that could potentially harm them."

Hagrid seemed to pale a bit and said, "I don' know what yer talking 'bout. That's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel so you should forget –"

"So there's a Nicolas Flamel involved, huh?" Harry said softly.

The four hurriedly excused themselves as Hagrid looked absolutely furious with himself.


	6. Chapter 5

**To everyone reading my story, here is the next chapter! I hope you'll like it. Sorry that the few chapters are so short. I have been in a bit of a rush the past few days. I hope to hear your thoughts on the chapter so please review and help me improve! Thank you!**

 **As you know, the Harry Potter series and its characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Thank you.**

Chapter 4

The four therefore, started their expedition on searching for Nicolas Flamel. They didn't get very far, though, and October soon neared its end. Halloween was just around the corner and everyone was excited for the feast, except Rose.

She knew that Professor Quirrel would let the troll in during the feast. If possible, she would like to avoid that girl's restroom so as not to get possibly killed. Rose wasn't suicidal and does not possess enough bravery to recklessly charge into fights that she is not completely certain of. Sure, Harry had defeated the troll in the book, but how much of the book had changed from what Rose had known? The trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione was nonexistent and they weren't supposed to find out about Nicolas Flamel till after the Halloween incident.

Therefore, on Holloween, Rose just can't shake off the feeling that something dreadful was sure to happen. Everything had seemed normal that day. The four went off to all their classes and were dismissed early for the feast that night. Things went downhill from there as they stepped out of the classroom. Hermione had forgotten a book in the common room of the Gryffindor Tower and had wanted to go back for it. Reluctantly, Rose let her go but made sure to go with her, making up the excuse that she wanted to get something from her bag anyways. The two girls left the boys who went on ahead and headed for the Gryffindor Tower. At a corner of the hall, though, they had bumped into Ron Weasley. He blinked when he saw them before huffing and said, "Well, so the two leeches finally let go of the two idiots, huh?"

Rose glared at Ron and retorted, "If they're idiots and have better grades than you, what does it make you?" Rose gave a small laugh, "Please, leeches? Aren't you the one who is desperately trying to leech onto others? For what purpose do you do it is what I am curious about."

Ron turned red and said, "At least I'm not desperate enough to sell myself for 'friendship'."

Hermione had been rather silent throughout the whole conversation. Hearing Ron say that seemed to make something in her snap and she burst out in tears. Rose seeing this, tried to reach out to Hermione but she ran off. Rose paled considerably at this and glared even more fiercely at Ron before heading off to find Hermione. She knows exactly where Hermione was and needed to get her out before the troll came in. Hurriedly, she headed toward the bathroom on the nearby hallway. When she reached there, she can hear sobs come from inside and it made her heart ache for her friend. She quickly headed inside and saw Hermione in the corner. Her bright bushy hair covering her expression as she sobbed onto her sleeves.

Rose sank onto the ground beside Hermione and placed an arm around her best friend. Quietly, as though she was afraid that Hermione would break even further, she said, "I'm not going to ask if you're okay. That would be rather idiotic on my part. However, I am going to ask this of you. Please talk to me about why you're crying. You aren't normally one to let others get to you so there must be a good reason behind it. Would you like to tell me about it?"

Hermione gave a shuddered breath before mumbling softly, "I'm okay. It's just, well, it hurts. I've never been one to have friends. Most people tolerated me because I'm smart and they want my help with their work. I didn't mind it but it still hurts from time to time. I'm what you would call a social outcast. Even the teachers and my parents can't keep up with me at times. Truthfully, you were the first friend that I had that seemed to genuinely care. I am grateful for it, really. You led me to meet Harry and Neville and we all became good friends. All three of you didn't judge me and were patient with me. For that, I'm very, very grateful to you. Yet, when Ron said that, it just seemed to sting a lot." At this Hermione gave a dry laugh, "Look at me! I'm not pretty nor am I nice. In fact, I must be really annoying and unsociable. Why would you all befriend me?"

Rose was silent for a moment before she replied with a huff, "Do you really think that lowly of us?"

Startled, Hermione stared up at her in confusion and said, "I didn't"

"Yes you did. Sure you have your flaws. You're not as knowledgeable as you led on. You hide behind a strong façade, and you are rather annoying at times. Yet, that just makes you human. Not everyone is perfect. What people needs to learn is to accept the flaws of those around you. I accepted who you are the moment we met. Harry and Neville accepted you as well, didn't they?" Rose gave the stunned Hermione a small smile, "Have more faith in yourself! We can work on it and break your bad habits. Right?"

Hermione looked up at Rose with her eyes wide. Soon, she gave a small smile and threw her arms around Rose and hugged her, a new batch of tears threatening to fall. Rose gently held her friend and smiled sadly. Hermione was surrounded by Harry and Ron in the book the whole time and, let's admit it, they weren't very bright on the female gender. Even with Ginny and Luna, Hermione was never really close with them. It must have been hard having to deal with everything by herself all this time.

Sadly, their small comforting bubble was broken when a crash rang out from the bathroom door. A terrible stench followed in what smelled like a sewer full of trash. Never had Rose smelled anything like this and the object that it came from wasn't exactly pretty either. The troll was bigger than she had imagined and possessed a more terrifying image than the movie. Rose had to swallow a scream and both Hermione and her paled considerably. The troll glanced around a bit before seeing them. Letting out a roar, he stomped over and Rose finally snapped out of her stupor. She grabbed Hermione and dragged her away just in time to avoid the giant club that swung down onto the cement. Turning around, Rose stared at the giant dent that was left and the thought that it could have been their bodies caused bile to rise in her throat.

The troll looked at the dent in confusion before realizing that the two humans had escaped. It let out a roar and turned, finding the two again. He swung once more, causing Hermione to scream in terror and scrambling to get out of the way. The two luckily made it away in time and was only cut by a few of the flying debris of what was once a porcelain sink. There were not a lot of places the two can dodge to and the fact that the troll blocked the door cause the hope of leaving the small confinement next to zero. With no other choice, Rose took out her wand. Being only a first year and still unsure of how to work the harder spells, she had to resort to Ron's method and called out, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

Unlike Ron, Rose was a diligent student and had mastered the spell from that morning perfectly. She yanked the club out of the troll's hand, taking it by surprise. The troll tried to grab the club back and missed as Rose jerked it away. Rose spun the club high up until it reached the ceiling and slammed it down with as much force as she possibly can. She'll give Ron some credit. Using the spell on a larger object was harder than she had imagined. The troll spun around dizzily and Rose and Hermione dodged as much as they can. Finally, it fell onto the ground, unconscious. Rose gave a small smile but it fell as Hermione screamed in pain. She jerked her head over to Hermione and saw that the troll had landed on one of her legs. The angle at which it was twisted didn't look natural and Hermione was barely conscious herself.

Rose rushed over and cradled Hermione's head while softly muttering, "Hermione calm down. Please stay with me. Take a deep breath. No, don't you dare sleep on me. Please!"

Harry and Neville arrived on the scene of Rose cradling Hermione's head muttering hysterically while a giant troll laid on the ground one of its limb over Hermione's left leg. They looked in horror at the bruises and cuts on the girls' bodies and silently berated themselves for not arriving sooner. The teachers quickly arrived afterwards and whatever lecture was on the tip of their tongue died as they saw the now hysterical Rose and the dark, haunted looks of the two boys. Professor Flitwick quickly levitated the troll off of Hermione and gently levitated Hermione to the Hospital Wing. Professor McGonagall followed half dragging Rose with her. The boys silently walked behind the two professors, neither noticing the dark look over Professor Quirrell's face or Professor Snape's leg injury.

Along the way, Harry took many glances at Hermione and Rose. He silently blamed himself for not arriving sooner. He had been worried along with Neville when Hermione and Rose were taking too long. When he had heard of the troll, he had paled considerably and both Neville and he had prayed that the girls were in the Common Room, waiting for them. Their prayers were not answered when they saw that the Common Room was empty upon the group's arrival. Finally, Lavender came over and said that she had seen Hermione and Rose head for the girls' restroom nearby after a confrontation with Ron. Needless to say, Harry punched the idiot in the face and ran out of the Common Room with Neville hot on his heels. Percy had screamed for them to come back but the two had thrown all rules out the window as they searched for their friends. They were too late, though, and the scene they had arrived upon would probably haunt them for quite a while.

As Harry looked over at the injuries over Rose and Hermione's bodies, he vowed to himself that he'll get stronger. Strong enough so that he won't lose what was important to him anymore. He wasn't the only one. Neville, walking next to Harry, made the same promise. He had finally been able to make friends and he would chose no one else than the three that he had. Rose had brought him out of his shell. Hermione had been patient even when he didn't understand and Harry was someone who understands him better than anyone in their group. He was no longer a lonely boy who thought he would never fit in and would always admire the Boy-Who-Lived from afar. No, he was a friend of Harry, just Harry, Rose, who was brave and kind, and Hermione, the most intelligent witch he had ever met. He was not about to lose them just because he wasn't fast enough or that he wasn't prepared. There would be no next time for such dangers to befall his friends. He will repay them for their kindness no matter what. After all, there is a reason why he was put into Gryffindor and he would prove it.

As Hermione and Rose slept a potion-induced sleep that night in the Hospital Wing. Two boys started planning in their dorm ways to improve themselves. Thus, the wheels of fate changed, and many lives would be saved or killed depending on the outcome. For now, the quartet would have to face the climax of the year- their confrontation with the Defense against the Dark Arts professor, Quirinus Quirrell- and it is coming much sooner than they can imagine.


End file.
